Itamar Ben-Gvir hailed a strong showing by his Religious Zionism Party in Tuesday’s Knesset elections, with exit polls projecting the faction to win up to 15 seats in the next parliament.
Ben-Gvir, the head of the Otzma Yehudit party, ran on a joint list together with Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich.
While Ben-Gvir cautioned against celebrating too early, he described his election performance as a “huge achievement.”
He stressed security in his victory speech, stating that his party represents every sector of society. “All of them are asking for a real change. They’re asking to go safely in the streets. They’re asking not to tie the hands of our soldiers and our policemen,” said Ben-Gvir.
The security situation in Israel has deteriorated in recent months. On Election Day, a Jewish woman in Tiberias narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping by an Arab man. On Sunday, five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a terror attack in the Jordan Valley.
“We shall act against those who throw Molotov cocktails or stones and put at risk prison guards, women and do everything to jeopardize the system,” Ben-Gvir said Tuesday night.
“It’s about time that the soldiers of the IDF and the policemen get support and backing,” he added. “It’s about time we go back to being the owners of this country.”
